Subject Area

Course Director

Notes

Grading: The course grade is based on written assignments (15%), quizzes (35%), projects (15%), and the final exam (35%). Teams of students will conduct a final project and present the results to the class.

Topics

Magnetics/Circuits Review

Phasors/3-Phase/Power

Thermo, Conventional Generation

Power Grid

Solar Ponds (Guest Lecture)

Fuel Cells

Regulation

Economic Evaluation

Solar and Passive Houses (Guest Lecture)

Wind Resource and Turbines

Photovoltaic Cells (Guest Lecture)

Solar Resource

Photovoltaic Systems

Project Presentations

Demand Side Management

Markets/Environmental

Integration

Detailed Description and Outline

Topics:

Magnetics/Circuits Review

Phasors/3-Phase/Power

Thermo, Conventional Generation

Power Grid

Solar Ponds (Guest Lecture)

Fuel Cells

Regulation

Economic Evaluation

Solar and Passive Houses (Guest Lecture)

Wind Resource and Turbines

Photovoltaic Cells (Guest Lecture)

Solar Resource

Photovoltaic Systems

Project Presentations

Demand Side Management

Markets/Environmental

Integration

Grading: The course grade is based on written assignments (15%), quizzes (35%), projects (15%), and the final exam (35%). Teams of students will conduct a final project and present the results to the class.

Texts

Course Goals

The main course goal is to provide students with an overview of renewable electric energy systems. At the conclusion of the class students should have an understanding of renewable technologies such as wind and solar, and understand how these technologies can be utilized both in the existing electric grid and as stand-alone systems.

Instructional Objectives

A. By the time of Exam No. 1 (after approximately 10 ninety minute lectures), the students should be able to do the following:

1. Be able to provide a basic overview of the energy infrastructure both for the US and for the world; students should know the basic sources of energy and how this energy is transported. (c),(h), (i),(j)

2. Understand the concepts of power factor angle, power factor, complex power, and conservation of power; solve basic single phase circuits, basic understanding of harmonics in power systems. (a), (e)

3. Solve simple three-phase circuits to calculate any system voltage, current or power. (a), (e)

4. Apply concepts from basic electromagnetics to understand the operation of transformers; know the standard models for transformers. (a)

5. Provide a basic history of the development of the electric power industry (h), (j)

7. Be able to describe the basic operation of an interconnected electric grid, understanding the basics of power flow in such a network (a).

8. Be able to describe the basic operation of electricity markets, understanding their societal impacts. (c), (f), (j)

9. Understand the underlying physics and technologies used to extract energy from the wind. (a), (c), (e).

B. By the time of Exam No. 2 (after approximately 20 lectures), the students should be able to do all the items listed under A, plus the following:

10. Be able to use both actual wind speed measurements or assumed wind speed probability distribution functions to determine the average energy available from a wind site; be able to estimate how wind energy changes with turbine height and ambient temperature. (a), (b), (e) .

12. Be able to describe the societal and environmental impacts associated with wind energy. (f), (h), (j)

13. Be able to formula the power flow problem and be able to develop a solution algorithm using the Newton-Raphson approach. (a)

14. Be able to understand the power flow issues associated with the integration of wind energy systems into an existing electric grid; use power flow software to solve wind integration problems. (a), (e)

15. Understand the physics associated with using the sun as a source of PV energy, including knowing how the energy available from the sun varies by time of year, and time of day. (a)

16. Be able to determine the amount of solar energy available at a particular location including the impacts of clouds, shading and collector tilt. (a), (b)

17. Be able to describe solar thermal technologies, including contemporary issues. (c), (j)

18. Understand and describe the basic physics associated with solar PV systems; be able to describe current PV technologies. (a), (e)

C. By the time of the Final Exam (after approximately 30 lectures), the students should be able to do all the items listed under A and B, plus the following:

19. Be able to describe and solve problems using models of solar PV cells and modules; be able to determine model parameters from test results. (a), (b), (e)

20. Be able to do a simple design of a standalone solar PV system to meet specified energy requirements. (c)

21. Be able to describe and solve problems associated with the operation of dc-dc converters, and apply them to PV maximum power tracking. (a), (e)

22. Be able to describe current energy storage technologies, assessing their relative merits. (a), (j)

23. Understand the basic operation of hydro energy systems, and solve problems associated with the design of these systems. (a), (c)

24. Be able to provide a basic description of the application of bio fuels for electricity generation, including the broader societal impacts. (h)

25. Be able to use energy economics to assess the financial merits of a renewable energy system, including the impacts of interest rates and inflation. (a), (c)